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Al

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Take Care Of Yourself

I advocate people taking responsibility for their own health. I don't just mean watching what you eat and things like that. I mean weaning yourself from doctors to the degree, no more and no less, than your knowledge and abilities allow you to.

Doctors admit to killing around 150,000 people a year in the USA through errors, and some doctors say the real number may be 5 times larger.

And, a few years ago, a study in large city hospitals showed that fewer people die when the doctors leave the hospital, such as a doctors convention.

I worked in a high tech electronic factory for over 30 years. Though it wasn't my job title, my job function was Senior Diagnostician. I eventually became good at it, no brag, just fact.

In 1980, I got tired of taking my son to the doctor more than once a month. Miss work, sit in a doctor's waiting room for a couple hours with a sick kid who has diarrhea or fever, plus his bill to be told, "It's going around."

So, I started by calling the baby sitter who always knew what the problem was, because she saw all the sicknesses. And, she'd tell me, just keep him home today, or Omigod get him to the doctor!

I went to our state university and actually assumed I would not be allowed to buy medical books. My cash was good, and I started with Krupp and Chatton.

Over time, I got where in most cases I knew what the problem was. A mix of the books and experience and diagnostic techniques.

I also finally realized that when I went to the doctor, half the time he was wrong. I would take his diagnosis home and study it out, and he had no clue!

So now it is rare I go to the doctor at all.

I am not urging anyone to do that, because this does take time to learn. But, if you can get the latest edition of TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF that will help a lot.

It has flow charts based on the symptom and runs you through a flow chart, telling you what to do and when to go to the doctor. Companies which give this book to their employees, I think the figure was, reduced health costs by like 8% right away. It really works.

You can get the Merck Manual for like $70, and when you get a diagnosis from a doctor read up on it, and slowly you can increase your knowledge.

And, Crisssakes, learn about low carb. I use Atkins but it doesn't matter. Turns out many doctors tell you that Atkins can't work, but I bought Physiology by Guyton and Hall, the text book used in many medical schools in the US and Mexico. And, it does say that increasing fat consumption burns body fat!!!!!!

It is easier to change people's religion than their diet. On man's boards, if you mention low carb, you immediately get all sorts of contradicting diets from men. Most of them are very young, and seem to have a diet that temporarily works for them. Check them out at 50 and see the mess they are in! And, in most cases, even then they will not listen to low carb.

I haven't seen a doctor for myself in years. Last time I needed it was like 10 years ago when I suspected I had the onset of pneumonia, which turned out to be correct.

I have to see a doctor once every few months (more often in winter) for my kids, and I only go there because 1. I need the piece of paper for school to legitimize their absence 2. I don't own a stethoscope nor equipment to check for ear infection. 3. I might need an antibiotic prescription (very rare).

As usual she'll write the same idiot prescription for the same synthetic drugs I refuse to give to my kids. I smile, nod and thank and pay her and go home, where I throw away the prescription and 'treat' my kids with teas, broths, herbs, tinctures, natural ointments, warm cherry stone pillows, epsom baths and lots of hugs.

I haven't seen a doctor for myself in years. Last time I needed it was like 10 years ago when I suspected I had the onset of pneumonia, which turned out to be correct.

I have to see a doctor once every few months (more often in winter) for my kids, and I only go there because 1. I need the piece of paper for school to legitimize their absence 2. I don't own a stethoscope nor equipment to check for ear infection. 3. I might need an antibiotic prescription (very rare).

As usual she'll write the same idiot prescription for the same synthetic drugs I refuse to give to my kids. I smile, nod and thank and pay her and go home, where I throw away the prescription and 'treat' my kids with teas, broths, herbs, tinctures, natural ointments, warm cherry stone pillows, epsom baths and lots of hugs.

i was raised off garlic fresh lemons and other natural anti body building things..and it worked fine.

I was working as a senior diagnostician. With the usual medical books, if you get a doctor's diagnosis you can read up on it and see if it was correct. If it was not correct, he (or she) didn't know what he was doing, period.

With practice and knowing your own body, you can eventually identify most problems you have without help from a doctor. It takes time and practice, and a lot of reading. It helps me that I was a diagnostician already. Diagnostic principles are the same for doctors; for mechanics; and for electronic technicians. For each field you need knowledge of that field at some level. Once you do you can diagnose in that field. If a doctor insists, oh, no, diagnostics are totally different for doctors, you know you are dealing with a mediocre doctor.

I own an old copy of Krupp and Chatton; a fairly late version of the Merck Manual, and also have access to the Internet which is full of medical information.

And, here in Mexico, if I want a lab test, I go to the lab and pay the money and they give me the results that afternoon, with no stupid doctor screwing things up. And, I get on line to interpret it.

For example, I had high blood pressure. A man I know in the USA, I called him and he told me it was probably insecticide poisoning from contaminated lard. Data over time showed that was the case. I eventually discussed it with a doctor friend, and he insisted that could not be it. But, eliminating lard started it lowering, and Atkins inductin burned off the contaminated fat in my body.

But, you can buy a good stethoscope, via Amazon if you don't know where to buy them locally. A really good one might be over $100, but you can use it for a very long time. And, there are training pages on the Web.

Well, it's a lot like taking your car to a mechanic; if you don't have any idea of what's happening, how can you possibly tell if he does?

Sorry, re-reading I realize I did not correctly answer your question.

I learned how to tell what is wrong with my car, just as I have learned how to tell in most cases what is wrong with me.

I read, of course. Also, got an OBDII reader so I could see what was wrong, if there was a failure code Check Engine Light. Get a good one with freeze frame, if you can afford it get one with graphing for your oxygen sensors which will save you some horribly expensive cat convertors.

Mostly, for 31 years I was a diagnostician and the principles apply in all fields.

I learned how to tell what is wrong with my car, just as I have learned how to tell in most cases what is wrong with me.

I read, of course. Also, got an OBDII reader so I could see what was wrong, if there was a failure code Check Engine Light. Get a good one with freeze frame, if you can afford it get one with graphing for your oxygen sensors which will save you some horribly expensive cat convertors.

Mostly, for 31 years I was a diagnostician and the principles apply in all fields.

Yea, all I was basically saying is that each person needs to know both about some generalized medical knowledge (e.g. when to take an aspirin, when to call the doctor, when to call 911) AND about the foibles of their own body.

Yea, all I was basically saying is that each person needs to know both about some generalized medical knowledge (e.g. when to take an aspirin, when to call the doctor, when to call 911) AND about the foibles of their own body.

Of course, my car predates OBDII....

This is getting scary! SST and I agree again!!!

I would go even farther and say you also need to know which antibiotics to use for what and when to use them. Most doctors in the USA do not know how and when to use antibiotics. Norway is still using Generation 1 antibiotics, because they do not let doctors over-prescribe antibiotics. Generation -1 still work.

Doctors have usually said you must take antibiotics for a full ten days. They believe in evolution and have assumed that antibiotic resistance occurs because the bacteria evolve resistance. So, you need to really blast 'em for a full ten days.

Finally, several years ago, in a vets hospital they did a study on older men with prostate infections. They gave them a strong dose of antibiotics and did a stool study every day.

Before the antibiotics started, the stool bacteria had susceptible bacteria. After a few days, the bacteria were resistant.

After they stopped the antibiotics, the bacteria were again susceptible to antibiotics!

So, the longer you take the antibiotics the more resistant bacteria you have floating around.

By the way, my OBD scanner has an OBD-1 function. And, on some of that generation of cars, you can short two pins on the adapter and the computer will send a series of blinks which give the failure code number. That should put you back nearly 25 years or so.